Caving mining methods cause significant deformation and subsidence of the ground surface. Development and surface infrastructure is typically situated close to the mining area in order to optimise production paths. However, detailed knowledge of subsidence limits only becomes available as mining advances. Therefore, it is critical to monitor the evolution of subsidence in order to mitigate adverse safety and economic impacts. A network of surface and underground instruments is vital for such monitoring. Traditional monitoring methods include surface scanning in combination with subsurface instrumentation. Many subsurface instruments rely on physical connectivity but this can be lost due to the large deformations typical of mining subsidence. This paper presents the preliminary results of a trial of Elexon Mining’s Geo4Sight networked markers coupled with conventional instrumentation to monitor caving subsidence at the New Afton Mine.
